Vancouver Canucks center Elias Pettersson played his first game since early March on Thursday.
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Absent for the first 10 days of Vancouver Canucks training camp, Brock Boeser decided to call his new teammate Nic Petan “Petey,” which of course is often the nickname for Elias Pettersson.
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Yes, the original Petey knows.
“I saw something or someone tagged me or something that Brock had called Petan ‘Petey’,” Pettersson said with a big smile. But I didn’t click on the video. I’m sure this is not (Boeser’s) proudest moment. “
With his new contract just signed, sealed and delivered this past weekend, the Canucks’ number one center was finally able to test his wrist, which was injured against the Winnipeg Jets in early March, leading to his 2021-22 season. to an early end. .
He took his usual turn as the team’s number one center Thursday night against the Edmonton Oilers, an entertaining 3-2 exhibition loss. He received an assist on the Canucks’ second goal, setting Petan up for a power play in the first period.
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NEXT GAME
Saturday
Edmonton Oilers vs. Vancouver Canucks
6 pm, Rogers Arena.TV: Sportsnet 360. Radio: AM650
The move to prepare Petan was a sign that his wrist is completely healed.
“Yes, the doll feels great, there is no problem shooting, there is no feeling at all when I am filming just once, which was my biggest concern and going into the season, but yes, the doll is great,” he said. .
“I’ve never had an injury like that before. Especially that long time. My whole body felt great, my wrist felt great, but as soon as I tried to fire the puck, I felt pain. “
He spent the summer back home in Sweden, mainly staying with his parents, but also traveling, visiting friends. He also worked hard with his coach, rehabilitating his wrist and developing his overall strength, speed, and agility.
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“Training went well and we planned to skate from mid-July, August, then slowly we started shooting again and I felt good (shooting) from the first practice,” he said.
Mentally, it was also good to be back in Sweden. Due to the challenges of traveling in an unvaccinated world and the need for COVID-19 quarantines, he stayed in Vancouver after the end of the 2019-20 season.
As a result, he had not seen his family in a year.
“Very good mental release, just go home to your parents, be with friends, just be in Sweden, kind of a getaway from Vancouver,” he admitted. “It was nice to come home and have a long, normal summer.”
Before Thursday’s game, he admitted to having a moment. He wasn’t quite sure what he was feeling.
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“I don’t know if I was a little nervous or just happy to get back with the fans,” he said.
Either way, the feeling didn’t last.
“It’s been a long time since I last played,” he said. “A little bit of timing, just instincts were a little out of place in the first period, but the longer the game lasted, the better I felt. Overall happy with the game. “
The Canucks, meanwhile, gave up depth forward Sheldon Dries on Friday. If you approve the waivers, you will be reassigned to AHL Abbotsford.
Third-row goalkeeper Michael DiPietro, who needs no waivers, was also assigned to Abbotsford to start the season. Abbotsford general manager Ryan Johnson has said DiPietro will play a lot at Abbotsford. There are now three goalkeepers in AHL’s camp, so it will be interesting to see how time backing DiPietro is split between prospect Arturs Silovs and veteran Spencer Martin.
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Defender Guillaume Brisebois was also seen skating at Abbotsford training ground on Friday. The depth defender is recovering from injury and will need to be removed before being officially assigned to the team.
There are now 29 players in Canucks camp, which means that six more moves must occur on the roster, whether they put players on waivers or injured reserve, for the team to drop to its NHL roster. to start the season.
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